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When I grow up

When I was a child, I wielded a crayon like a conductor leading a symphony. I colored and doodled and scribbled with confidence, using every color I could to make my rainbows a palace for those little leprechauns.

At 6 years old, one of my dad’s dear friends said, “Taylor, when you grow up, you might just be an artist.”

My little-kid mind got all fuzzy. I shook my head and replied, “Thank you, but I already am!”

Kids really say the darnedest things, don’t they? Without any hesitation, at 6 years old, I could tell you exactly what I wanted to be (or what I thought I already was…). I didn’t worry about my future, didn’t dwell on paychecks or whether or not I would be “good enough.” I trusted in my abilities and there was no ceiling capping my career possibilities.

My list of future jobs sounded something like this…
An actor who would make her big debut in a comedy with Jim Carey.
A walrus trainer at Sea World.

An Olympic ski racing coach.
A writer of many, many books.
And as I previously mentioned, an artist – which I had apparently already accomplished.

Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were in kindergarten? Do you still want to be that? Or maybe a dream that you’ve tucked in the back of your mind and have yet to give voice to it…

Because if your dreams have changed, I want to know what made you reconsider. Did you lose heart? Did you trade dreams for practicality?

Even though I really don’t care much about being a walrus trainer anymore, I do want to be a writer. So that’s what I’m pursuing.

In my college classes, we were constantly reminded about the ever shifting world of journalism. “With everything moving online, is journalism heading south?” In my opinion, no, but for some, they go on preaching cautionary remarks about diving into the field.

Since I was a little girl, God placed a love of storytelling on my heart. Sit down at a coffee shop with me and I would be honored to listen to your passions, ideas and struggles. Ask me questions and I’ll walk down that road with you and talk politics, faith and social injustice until the cows come home.

Whether or not the world of journalism changes, the importance of telling our stories and encouraging one another in our life journeys will always be valuable. People can tell me as much as they want that writing isn’t lucrative, that my aspiration to be a novelist isn’t likely to come true, but I won’t budge.

I hold firm to my faith that my Lord shaped my heart this way for a reason. As long as He keeps such Joy in my heart for storytelling, I’m going to keep on doing it. The ways of the world might wipe away some people’s dreams, but not mine.

Are your dreams still alive, or are you just waiting for a resurrection?